An interesting albeit flawed erotic drama that feels like a cross between Last Tango in Paris & Brief Encounter, but with none of the intensity of the former & none of the emotional resonance of the latter. The title is misleading as this film is more about a hollow & completely unemotional no strings attached sexual relationship between two lonely individuals. This then ultimately leads to one of the parties trying to seek something more than just quick sweaty sex & forge a more emotional connection with the other person. This as expected leads to further complications, the ramifications of which would go on to impact both their lives.
The film is quite drab in terms of it's settings playing out completely in shoddy looking flats, dull underground theaters & unappealing bars which is quite intentional given that the film is trying to be an anti romance. The characters look tired & drained out & even the sex is as unerotic as possible. The first hour sets the stage for intriguing things to come & I was curious to see where the film would head once our lead decides to get to know more about his fuck buddy. But the film takes a detour into somewhat bland & predictable territory once that happens. Still it is quite commendable that the sex is portrayed as realistically & authentically as possible. This is not titillation or provocative art porn but an honest look at depersonalized sex that does not seek to arouse.
Mark Rylance seems a bit miscast here in my opinion. He is a terrific actor but he seems somewhat too posh sounding for what is essentially a working class character. Someone like a Gary Oldman or a David Thewlis would have been perfect for this role instead. Kerry Fox fares better especially in the theater scenes, though her accent does slip into her NZ twang at times. Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew from the HP movies) is pretty much the highlight here as the cheated husband. His character pretty much plays to his strengths as an actor & he portrays it perfectly. The taxi scene in particular is a perfect demonstration of his skills.
I just wish that this film had more to deliver than what it did. The supporting characters which include a French bartender & a Scottish bum are amusing but completely superfluous to the movie & rather underdeveloped. I did not understand their role or significance here. Neither are some of the events as rationally played out as one might expect. One revelation in particular is not even shown or conveyed to the audience until it is just mentioned in passing.
To sum it up, this is a perfectly serviceable film but it does not break any new ground that had been mostly set by the 2 aforementioned movies it clearly seems to be influenced by.
The film is quite drab in terms of it's settings playing out completely in shoddy looking flats, dull underground theaters & unappealing bars which is quite intentional given that the film is trying to be an anti romance. The characters look tired & drained out & even the sex is as unerotic as possible. The first hour sets the stage for intriguing things to come & I was curious to see where the film would head once our lead decides to get to know more about his fuck buddy. But the film takes a detour into somewhat bland & predictable territory once that happens. Still it is quite commendable that the sex is portrayed as realistically & authentically as possible. This is not titillation or provocative art porn but an honest look at depersonalized sex that does not seek to arouse.
Mark Rylance seems a bit miscast here in my opinion. He is a terrific actor but he seems somewhat too posh sounding for what is essentially a working class character. Someone like a Gary Oldman or a David Thewlis would have been perfect for this role instead. Kerry Fox fares better especially in the theater scenes, though her accent does slip into her NZ twang at times. Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew from the HP movies) is pretty much the highlight here as the cheated husband. His character pretty much plays to his strengths as an actor & he portrays it perfectly. The taxi scene in particular is a perfect demonstration of his skills.
I just wish that this film had more to deliver than what it did. The supporting characters which include a French bartender & a Scottish bum are amusing but completely superfluous to the movie & rather underdeveloped. I did not understand their role or significance here. Neither are some of the events as rationally played out as one might expect. One revelation in particular is not even shown or conveyed to the audience until it is just mentioned in passing.
To sum it up, this is a perfectly serviceable film but it does not break any new ground that had been mostly set by the 2 aforementioned movies it clearly seems to be influenced by.